Hammonds, Harrington & Destroy

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author TL date 23/11/12 venue Kulturstationen, Vanløse, DEN

There's a first time for everything and tonight is my first time visiting Kulturstationen Vanløse, which among other things houses a café and a stage on the first floor of a shopping mall right next to Vanløse station. I'm here because I've been keeping an eye on Copenhagen indie/punk outfit Hammonds, Harrington and Destroy for a while now, because I've taken a liking to their debut album "Sing The Apocalypse" and because knocking back some beers while marking that album's release party seems like a perfectly good way to spend a Friday evening in November. Considering the low turnouts that have hindered early performances by the band that I have attended, it is encouraging to count some 50 people making Kulturhuset's café look lively, and that being said, since there's nothing else on the agenda for tonight, let's just get on to the band's performance:

Hammonds, Harrington & Destroy

A large, square area of the café is separated with thick drapes and designated as the concert area, and in here HH&D step on the wide stage which has been decorated with rose bouquets at the front, and which has some extra instruments standing about - in form of a large drum next to the front microphone and a grand piano at the back. The band immediately launches into the opening duo from the album "Oh Children, Sing The Apocalypse" and "White Flags" and the sound is nicely adjusted from the very beginning. Singer Jakob Printzlau informs us that the band means to play the album in its entirety, so "Father" and "For The Arrow And The Bow" naturally follow. Tonight's casual audience applauds generously between songs, and a few near the front move their feet a little and raise their voices to sing along, but it's pretty clear that the energy level of the show is going to stay relatively relaxed, at least among the audience.

"Only This Ocean" endears us with its catchy refrain and moody guitar solo and the grand piano comes into use when a guest pianist takes the stage to play the intro to "Patriot Song", while the extra drum takes a beating from Printzlau at one point. yet oddly not during the usual "beat of the drum, of the drum!" refrain (which is to be found on a bonus track from the vinyl edition of the record if I'm not mistaken). In general the guys in the band seem encouraged and more energetic and extrovert than usual, for once playing in front of an audience that knows them, and is there to see them and this makes for a positive impression as the potent quadruple of "Death To Traitors", "Weekend Fires", "Always Other Gallows" and finally "Let's Get Together And Fall Apart" rounds off the show. Walking away from previous performances by the band, the topic has consistently been which little things hindered the show from really coming together, yet while tonight hardly sees wild, riot-like activity, I now walk away hearing people chatter about the same thing that I've been saying for a while now: That HH&D have some damn good songs written already and that it's a pleasure to see them play.

7

For the lack of good photos from the show, here's the album which was being celebrated on the night.

Get it here

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